About two dozen activists, public officials and onlookers gathered in front of the Peoples Natural Gas headquarters on the North Side Wednesday morning to oppose the company’s efforts to, as they say, “privatize the city’s water infrastructure.”

Holding signs, attendees engaged in a call-and-response with Rev. Vincent Kolb, a member of the Pittsburgh United’s Our Water Campaign and a minister at the Sixth Presbyterian Church.

“Do we want to see our water become a commodity?” Kolb asked as the protesters stood behind him.

“No!” the crowd responded.

During the event, a few officials gave short speeches and the Our Water Campaign launched a petition drive to gather support for keeping PWSA’s assets public.

Peoples refutes the notion that its plans amount to privatizing PWSA. In an email on Wednesday, Peoples’ spokesperson Barry Kukovich said the company met with members of the Our Water Campaign and listened to their concerns.